“He broke a lot of New Yorkers’ hearts,” said JJ Linares, 33 years old of Staten Island, who said he wouldn’t vote for Mr. Spitzer even though he recalled him as a great governor and attorney general. “He was kind of like Batman in court. I remember being really disappointed.”

“I think maybe [Mr. Spitzer] got some confidence back since Weiner,” said Mr. Lewis, an engineer, who said he needed to do more research before deciding who to vote for. “Most politicians have their dark secrets, [Mr. Spitzer] just happened to get caught.”

During media appearances Monday morning, Mr. Spitzer suggested that he knows he has a tough road ahead of him to gain some voters’ respect. When asked on “CBS This Morning” why voters should trust him, Mr. Spitzer answered, “Well first, I wouldn’t say they should. I’m going to ask them to, and I think there’s a difference there that is important.”

“I’m going to say look, I had a long career as a prosecutor, as Attorney General, as Governor,” he continued. “I sinned, I owned up to it, I looked them in the eye, I resigned, I held myself accountable.”

Some voters seemed to be able to look past the scandal. Ellen Sacks, a lawyer from Ditmas Park, said she would vote for Mr. Spitzer in a second.

“He’s a really smart guy,” she said. “He did a great job as governor and he did a great job as AG and he did a stupid thing. Weiner did a stupid thing and he’s ahead in the polls. I think it’s great.”

For Park Slope resident Foo Cassidy, 46 years old, Mr. Spitzer’s honesty and the fact that he owned up to his mistake is what allows her to forgive.

“As far as managing the city’s finances I think we’re in good hands,” she said.

Not all voters share her enthusiasm. Dana Ashley, 38 years old, said she is not ready to forgive Mr. Spitzer. The Department of Education therapist said his history of prosecuting johns prostitution-related crimes as attorney general made it worse.

“I think it’s a little arrogant and a little soon,” said the Upper East Side resident. “Unfortunately I’ve always politically liked his philosophies. But the part that I found really kind of sick is that he went after all the prostitutes.”